


Restoration

by cae_134



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adventure, Children of Characters, Coming of Age, Far Future, Found Family, Friendship, Multi, Personal Growth, Post-Avatar: The Legend of Korra, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24727192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cae_134/pseuds/cae_134
Summary: After the death of Avatar Korra, Republic City has fallen into complete disorder. With a sudden surge of crime on their hands, the government and the police force of the city take action by cracking down on weapons, and they mean all weapons. After two years without the Avatar all benders are forced into registering themselves as benders and are no longer allowed to bend without the proper, and absurdly expensive, training from the very people who took away their power. The traditions of bending are lost among the common people of Republic City. To only make matters worst, 18 years have passed since the death of the Avatar and there have been no signs of the reincarnated martyr.Lamai, along with her childhood best friend Byeol, live in a district in Republic City that is littered with spirits and work in a local noodle shop. Lamai thinks of herself as subpar and Byeol struggles with not connecting with her element. It is only when Lamai figures out that she is the new Avatar that they are forced into taking action.
Kudos: 4





	Restoration

Byeol told me earlier that she had something to show me after work, it isn't the first time this happened. She always had a natural curiosity that I didn’t. Before she could go into detail about where this place is I told her that I wasn’t in the mood for sneaking around tonight. I’ve known her for my whole life and while she doesn’t actively look for trouble, she always finds it. She then promised to me that it wasn’t anywhere suspicious and she expressed how excited she was to show me it. After sharing her excitement she headed into the kitchen in the back to help old lady Fuyumi. I couldn’t help but to grin to myself. Despite our circumstances Byeol still found things to be excited about. That positivity is one of my favorite traits of hers, yet it always made me feel like I was kind of dull in comparison.

She talked to me at the beginning of our shift and we had to be at least seven hours in. I wonder where exactly she plans on taking me. Republic City is huge- not only was its footprint large, but it was the most densely populated city on the planet. I have lived here my whole life, but there is so much I haven’t seen. Well it’s not like I have all the time in the world to explore, work takes up the majority of my life. Me and my Mother’s rent just keeps going up, and she makes a meager amount of money, even though she works as a teacher at a high-end elementary school uptown. Fuyumi can’t afford to pay me much, but her noodle shop was the only place I could get a job, mostly because of Byeol. Fuyumi raised Byeol after she lost her parents, even though Fuyumi was far past the age of being a mother. I couldn’t help feeling bad for Byeol, while I never knew my father, and my mother and me never really had the ideal mother and daughter bond, at least she was in my life. Som was also a part of my life, at least for a good while.

With the ring of a bell I am brought back to earth. I turn around to see Fuyumi with two bowls filled to the brim with broth. I walked back over to the little window in the back of the shop and carefully picked up the bowls. I look to the table closest to the door on the right side and see two older men sitting together. I didn’t even have to read what table they were at, there was only one table being occupied. I bring the two men their bowls with a small smile and then retreat towards the back of the shop. Business has been really slow lately, they were making renovations at the train station a couple blocks up and now that the project was over not as many faces were walking into the shop. Seeing that they won’t need any help anytime soon I slipped into the back room. It was uncomfortably warm in the kitchen, as per usual. Fuyumi was placing some pots in the sink while Byeol was lounging on a stool, leaning back onto the wall behind her. Fuyumi frowns as I walk in.

“It really isn’t looking good out there. It’s getting colder and colder, people should be warming up with some soup!” Fuyumi whined as she started to clean the pot. It was hard for her to get a lot of business where we are, most people here barely meeting ends meet. A majority of people around here are small business owners, and it's hard to thrive when there is so little money to go around. Another thing is that we live in a part of the city that has a large spirit population and they apparently really bring down the property value. I don’t really see the issue though. I personally don’t mind the spirits, they bring some life to this rather dull part of the city and I couldn’t tell you what, but something about them made me feel at ease.

“We will have more business in a couple of weeks when it gets really cold Fuyumi. That’s what happens every year, we shouldn’t get too worried over this.” Byeol replied, stepping off of her stool. Byeol was a couple inches taller than me, when she grew taller than me when we were younger she made snide remarks about it for a whole week. She liked to poke fun at me because I was a year older than her, but I knew she never meant anything bad of it- most people were taller than me anyways. Her long black hair was naturally straight and she had pretty golden almond shaped eyes, standard of anyone of Fire Nation descent. She smiled as she got closer to me. “Fuyumi, do you mind if me and Lamai left the shop early tonight? Lamai just looks so tired!” Byeol said with a false frown as she put a hand on my shoulder. I definitely wasn’t that tired. Fuyumi simply shrugged.

“Well you might as well we’re only open for another-” Fuyumi was cut off with a ring of a bell, all three of us took a quick look out of the window to see three armored men walking in the shop and taking a seat on the opposite side of the old men. Fuyumi snorted. “Looks like you aren’t getting out of work tonight Byeol.” Byeol pouted and eagerly looked in my direction. I knew what that meant.

“Would it kill you to help one table?” I asked, while Byeol wasn’t the most outgoing person on the planet she was far from shy.

“I think it would kill me!” Byeol dramatically held her hands over her heart. “I know how you feel about people and you need all the help you can get when it comes to socializing. With baby steps one day you will be less timid and this table can jumpstart your newfound confidence! In fact, I think one day you’ll thank me for letting you wait this table.” I sighed, nothing she was saying was technically wrong.

“It’s fine I got it.” I stated as I picked up a small notepad off of the counter. I hear a chuckle come out of Fuyumi.

“You know that Lamai won’t always be there to do your dirty work Byeol.” Fuyumi stated as she placed the pot to dry.

“I am just helping her build character Fuyumi! Besides that me and Lamai are partners in crime! Wherever she goes, I will follow!” Byeol exclaimed, patting me on the back, I gave her a quick smile. Byeol truly was my greatest friend, mostly because she was kind of my only friend. Ultimately she was right about the people thing too, I was never very comfortable around new people and most of my attempts to talk to people were embarrassing. I watched Fuyumi roll her eyes and then I headed back out into the shop. As I approached the three men I couldn’t help to notice the emblem on their backs, they all were policemen. As the population increased the stations needed more people to take on the role of police officers. Many stayed around these parts because of the high spirit activity or at least that’s what they claimed.

After a cumbersome conversation with the policemen I clean up the two bowls off of the other table in the front and head back into the kitchen. I hand the order to Fuyumi and she gets right back to work. I glance over to Byeol, sitting there doing nothing once again. I don’t want to call her lazy because she's fundamentally not, but she definitely isn’t the biggest fan of the noodle shop. “Hey Byeol, can you make me three cups of oolong tea?”

“Yeah, of course Lamai.” She gets back up and searches for the tea bags that she needs. Byeol was a good help here in the shop, Fuyumi did take her in afterall, so she does what she can to help the older woman. Fuyumi may be kind, but she was also stubborn- she still made sure that Byeol got paid for the time she put in at the shop and didn’t want her to help pay rent for the shop, even as she got older. As I was waiting for the tea I heard a sudden whirring sound nearby, I looked up to see a small flame coming out of Byeol’s right hand. The instant Fuyumi notices she rushes to shut the shudders over the window in between the kitchen and the shop.

“Byeol!” Fuyumi whispered with displeasure with a stern look. “You know those three men over there are police officers!” Fuyumi grabbed her wrists and Byeol took a heavy breath in. We all stood in silence for a few moments waiting for a reaction from the men, but it never came.

Following the death of Avatar Korra, Republic City was in disarray. Now that the Avatar was gone, there were an incredible amount of new criminals emerging. Theft was common, buildings and roads were being destroyed, people were using the newest spirit portal to their advantage. They tried to reduce crime by cracking down on the weapons inside the cities borders, but as the President said “Some of us have natural weapons.” So two years after the death of the Avatar, benders were forced to register themselves, telling a representative of each district what kind of bending they had and they were given a special seal on their ID corresponding with their element. Those who spoke against it and refused to get registered were considered to be “criminal conspirators” and received years of jail time with no trial. When new benders came into the world parents had until their child was seven years old to report that their child was a bender. If their child was a bender and they failed to report it, it would be seen as negligence, the guardians would be imprisoned and the child would be taken away and put into a group home for bending children.

Even so, bending was not illegal. The city decided that if people went through the proper training, which consisted of training for four years under a city regulated bending academy, they were permitted to use their bending in public. All graduates were all marked with a tattoo on their left hand with their respective element, but it took such a large amount of money to study under an academy you would most likely not see a marked left hand in months. In the beginning there were many bending masters who taught under the eyes of the police force, but engineers designed a tool that could track the chi of benders by using electromagnetic waves and soon all intentional bending can be tracked. This technology wasn’t full proof because if they don’t catch the signal it won’t do them any good, but it certainly did some damage. The city suddenly saw a decrease in bending masters. The once celebrated art of the elements was slowly fading away and only those who were born lucky were taught any of the old ways.

“Byeol, go upstairs now.” Fuyumi silently demanded, and with a slow nod Byeol tiptoed her way up the stairs. “You know what to do Lamai.” I understood. We have discussed this before in the shop. Both me and Byeol are benders and as Fuyumi told many times before, we were “impulsive teenagers,” which really is a fair sentiment. She stated that this plan was meant if either one of us slipped up, but I always knew that she never intended it for me. I don’t see a point in defying the police force or the government of the city, my earthbending did not make me who I am. I can’t say the same about Byeol- Byeol claims that no matter what benders cannot be separated from their element. She said she felt a surge of energy in her being when she feels the heat of a fire. While I just wanted to pass these thoughts of her off as her being impressionable, she has an undeniable passion that no one else on the planet will surpass. The plan isn’t anything too crazy, we’re going claim to be the only ones home while Byeol slips out. We hope that if this did happen it would go under the radar, neither one of us were powerful benders anyways. If it didn’t we would claim that I was the girl who lived with Fuyumi and they would continue to look for a firebender, not two earthbenders.

After a couple moments passed I turned to see Byeol outside the shop, she gathered a couple things into a bag and slipped out the window as planned. She did not look worried, she looked frustrated. I gave her a reassuring smile and I watched her walk away from the shop into the back alley.

After they ate, the police officers left with no issue. Fuyumi was scrubbing the dishes with such unnecessary force, I’m sure the neighbors could hear her. I already scrubbed the tables and put away the unused silverware. My coat was already on and I knew I was done for the night, but the mood Fuyumi was in made me feel like I needed to wait to be dismissed.

“Lamai?” Fuyumi said suddenly with a serious look on her face. “I know perfectly well the minute that I tell you that you’re okay to leave you are going to find Byeol. I need you to pass on a message.” She threw the last spoon she was washing into the sink. “Sweetheart, I know you do not have an angry bone in your body, but when you see Byeol I need you to give her the biggest look of disappointment that you can muster up. And then you can tell I sent the look because words cannot even begin to describe the things I am feeling now.” If there was one thing that Byeol learned from Fuyumi it would be how to be dramatic. I admit this is fairly serious, but Fuyumi really was into theatrics. I frown for a moment. If Byeol got caught tonight she would have been fined, but since she is seventeen she would not have to pay the full price. On the hand, once you have one offense under your name they never stop monitoring you. She might as well kiss her small opportunities to bend goodbye.

“I’ll send the message Fuyumi, try to have a good rest of your night.” I said calmly, after a slight wave from Fuyumi I was on my way. Me and Byeol never discussed where we would go if this ever happened to us, but I know where she would be. While I was walking down the familiar street I felt a presence with me and I instinctively turned around.

“Oh, hello.” Behind me was a light blue cat owl, a cat owl that always somehow finds his way back to me. Most people are weary of the spirits, afraid of the potential they have to harm them, but they never acknowledge the potential for good they have. This little guy has followed me around since I was a young girl and I’ve always liked the company. I call him Kuo. After a small hoot, Kuo lands on my shoulder and nuzzles his face into my neck.

While Byeol believes she could never live without her bending, I believe that I could never live without my connection to the spirit world. There seems to be little to no support for the spirits and the average Republic City citizen sees them as a nuisance, but most spirits have a deeper understanding of life that most people couldn’t even dream of recognizing. There is so much knowledge that is still unknown about the spirits, even though the portals have been opened for nearly a century. If I had the power to do anything, I spend my days learning their lessons and spreading their ways. I don’t believe that I could ever make that big of a difference though, it’s just not in me.

I never told anyone about Kuo, and he disappears when he knows we're not alone anymore. I feel like talking about him while he wants to remain hidden is just not right and I could never convince myself to tell people about him.

After ten minutes worth of walking Kuo lets out a soft hoot and then dissipates into  
the air. After I opened the door into me and my mother's apartment building my suspicions were confirmed, Byeol was sitting on the stairs to the right of the foyer. She looks up at me and frowns.

“What did she say?” Byeol questioned, I cracked a smile at her.

“She told me that words could not describe how she’s feeling right now and to make the most discontent face I could.” I said with a chuckle, Byeol rolled her eyes.

“You’re not even going to try to make an angry face? Come on Lamai, make me fear going home tonight!” Byeol stated. It was my turn to roll my eyes.

“You know I’m not here to criticize you.” I said as I took a seat next to her. In a way, I was upset at Byeol, but I didn’t feel like lashing out at the only friend I have. I don’t know what I would do without her. We sat quietly on the staircase for a moment, tonight could have been a disaster if we didn’t get lucky.

“Your birthday is coming up soon.” Byeol said, breaking the silence. It was just like Byeol to act like her hasty behavior wasn't that big of a deal.

“My birthday isn’t for another season. And don’t think I’m looking forward to the festival this year.” I said with a slight grimace.

I was born in the late winter, before the last full moon before spring, which means I was one of the many potential successors to Avatar Korra. The Earth Kingdom has the most people living in it and everyone knew once it was time for the next Avatar to emerge that it was going to be a mess. The old methods of trying to find the Earth Kingdom Avatar simply isn’t that effective anymore, two of the world’s largest cities are located in the Earth Kingdom and their methods were starting to fail when they were looking for Avatar Kyoshi centuries ago. It also didn’t help that no one knows the exact date Avatar Korra died. She was found at Foggy Swamp where she was residing for years after the death of her wife, Asami Sato. The last thing they found written by her referred to the date being before the last full moon of winter. The Earth Kingdom sages concluded that they would simply have to wait until someone can prove they can bend multiple elements, later in the winter will mark the 19th year the world has not had an Avatar.

Since I am an earthbender born before the last full moon of winter, I fall into a group known as the successors of Korra. All known successors of Korra are brought together and the Earth Kingdom hopes that one day the Avatar will speak up. They haven’t. There is a big celebration where the successors are presented to the city, but there’s so many of us that there isn’t enough to individually acknowledge us all. The festival was kind of dumb, but at least there’s good food. It really isn’t that special being one of these so called successors. Those who show great potential in earthbending get special treatment in smaller towns, but me and any other poor Republic City runts don’t get the light of day. If the Avatar was in Republic City then they’re never going to find them since people can’t practice their bending freely. I’m not even sure what they would do once they found the Avatar, especially if they were here.

“Hello! Earth to Lamai!” Byeol said with a slightly demanding tone and I looked back at her, she knew what I was thinking. She couldn’t suppress the small frown that showed up on her face. The Avatar was once a beacon of hope, the bridge between worlds, but less people respect the Avatar. Even when Korra was around some really treated her as a nuisance. Who knows what the world had planned for the Avatar now. “Um, I was just going to ask you what you wanted for your birthday.”

“I don’t want anything crazy… maybe we can bake a cake together like we did last year. Maybe we could try a different flavor.” I said casually.

“That was a lot of fun last year, I’m looking forward to it.” Byeol said in a small voice, we were both quiet for a minute. Even though we lived fairly uneventful lives, we still had our fair share of worries. It wasn't an ideal time to be a young bender in Republic City.

A few minutes passed by and suddenly Byeol jumped up from her spot on the stairs. “Lamai! I almost forgot I had something to show you!” She yelled in excitement.

“If I ask you where we are going, would you give me an answer this time?” I asked.

“No, I would not.” She said with a smile, I couldn’t help laughing at that.

“Okay Captain, lead the way.”

We stayed on the train for two stations and got off at the third. This district wasn’t really new for us, it had my mother’s favorite fruit market here and there were a couple stores that me and Byeol have explored before. She eventually led me to a park, we had a favorite park that was only one station north from us that we always went to. I wonder what is so special about this one. This one is definitely not as well maintained as the other one, most of the trees were overgrown and there was litter everywhere you looked. After walking on the dirt path for a while Byoel grabbed my hand.

“Okay, try not to get too excited now.” Byoel said, barely containing her own smile. I simply nodded. She takes us off the dirt path and after walking through a few trees we get to an opening. Once we get to the opening we are surrounded by large, intricate and beautiful statues. A lot of them are beautiful women, some of them display some abstract designs and there are a couple of fun ones too, but no one could deny that these are stunning pieces of art. It must have taken the artists days to craft such stunning art.

“Wow Byoel, how did you find this place?” I asked, stepping up closely to one of the statues. This one was a raven eagle, it was so detailed that you could make out the texture of the feathers. I’ve never even seen a raven eagle, but I could tell that this is a faithful recreation.

“Oh, I just heard it from a little bird.” After she says that she notices which statue I’m looking at “Haha, get it?” I let out a little chuckle as she got closer to the statue I was looking at. “You know there are certain kinds of people who can make a statue like this.”

“Who exactly would that be?” I asked.

“Earthbenders.” She stated plainly. Oh no she was going to go there again. “Doesn’t this beautiful art inspire you? Just to think with practice you too could make something as outstanding as the raven eagle.”

“I don’t think I have it in me.” I looked away from the statue and tried to avoid Byeol’s gaze.

“Why don’t you give it a try?” She pointed at a pile of small rocks to the left of the statue. I haven’t tried to earthbend since I was a little girl and I barely held any sort of grasp on the earth. If Byeol and my mother weren’t there to see it happen I would have convinced myself that I didn’t even move the rock.

“Why bother Byeol?” I can hear her sigh even before I finish my sentence. She takes a seat on the ground and she rests her right hand on the side of her face. I knew if I asked for Byeol for a light that she would gladly do it, but I am not willing to accept the risk, especially for something as irrelevant as my earthbending. It took several minutes for one of us to speak up again.

“I decided that when I turn 18 that I am going to apply for a job at the electricity plant.” Byeol admitted and my heart sank.

“Are you joking?” I asked with a slight volume to my voice. As electricity became more prevalent in the world, the city required more energy. Republic City sought out as many firebenders as they could to power up their generators and became the largest generator manufacturers in the world. Even with the sheer size of the city they could never find enough firebenders to willingly work for them, so they offer them lucrative contracts that would give them a great amount of money, but they always sign away their lives. Poor treatment of workers, endless hours and pure fatigue that these workers faced made electricity plant jobs the least desirable in Republic City. Just the thought of Byeol spending all her days there, I could hear my teeth chatter and I knew the rest of me was shaking too.

“Why would you ever want to do that, Byeol?” She couldn’t even look me in the eye.

“I would finally be able to bend and they would teach me how to generate lightning. I would make a lot of money too, maybe Fuyumi could open up a bigger shop.” I couldn’t believe what she was saying, so many questions were flying through my head that there was no way I could keep up with it all.

“Byeol, you know perfectly well that you would be worked to the bone. Is that what you want? To live a miserable existence as a slave to the city?” I can’t even bear to think what my life would be without Byeol, knowing that she would be so unhappy is what would really kill me.

“Miserable existence? I already live a miserable existence! I would think you would understand, but you don’t! How do you not feel awful suppressing your bending? You act like it's not a part of who you are, you act like we don’t have potential for more!” Byeol replied standing up from the ground.

“Not all of us have the potential for more Byeol!” I said without thinking.

“Why can’t you stop bringing yourself down Lamai!” Byeol replied instantly.

“Why are you being so selfish?” I screamed, and suddenly I felt the palm of my skin boiling. Byeol gasped and as I watched her turn around to look behind her. After a few seconds I could finally calm down my breathing- wow my hand really stings. I look down at my right palm and I see blisters forming. Confused, I moved slightly to the left and saw what Byeol gasped at. A small patch of grass was on fire, and it wasn’t Byeol who put it there.

In a matter of seconds my world was spinning, why would my hand be blistered if that was not my fire? But I’m an earthbender, yes I’m out of practice, but I bent earth before! There was absolutely no logical explanation for this! Well I guess there’s one…

I could feel myself shaking again, but this feeling was much more familiar than my previous anger.

“Lamai!” Byeol rushed over to me and firmly put her hands on my shoulders. This couldn’t be happening, I had barely any connection to my bending. There is no way this can be real, I know it’s not meant to be like this! It’s not meant for me. I could feel all my fears forming at the base of my stomach, my nausea getting worse by the second.

“Byeol… I…” I don’t know what I could say to her, I can barely even gather my thoughts. “I can’t do this.” The instant I said those words Byeol wrapped her arms around me and I couldn’t help to let my tears out. . “Byeol. I'm not a good bender. I am not wise. I am not strong.” I paused for a second. “I know I can’t do this.” My voice was weak. Her arms tighten more around me.

“Maybe you haven’t learned to bend well yet, maybe you don’t currently have wisdom or strength, but I know you can do this. All those skills can be learned, but you already possess the most important traits of the Avatar.” She let go of her embrace and looked me straight in the eye. “You already have kindness, you already have sympathy, you are good. No matter what other skills you learn, you will always have that. I will not leave your side because I already can see that you will be the best thing that happened to this world.” My sobbing subsided for a second as I looked back into Byeol’s eyes. I could tell she was being sincere. Knowing that Byeol has made me feel a little better. I quickly went back to hug her again. I don’t think I’ll ever find a better friend than Byeol.

A couple minutes past and I calm down a bit, but the feeling in the pit of my stomach still remains. I escape out of Byeol’s arms and look back at her.

“Byeol, I don’t know how we’re going to do this.” I watched her eyes light up when I said ‘we’re.’

“Well luckily for us we can make it for a while just following what the old avatars...” Just hearing her saying that word and referring to me sends shivers down my spine. “... did. We can make a team of elite benders and then-” She stops herself and I frown.

“No one in Republic City is going to train us just because we tell them I’m the Avatar. I don’t even know how I just did that and I don’t think I could do it again anytime soon.” I saw her look down at her feet, but after a few seconds her gaze shot up right back at me.

“You said no one in Republic City will teach you bending?” She asked, I know she heard me.

“Yes I did.” I replied.

“Well I guess that means we're going to have to leave Republic City.”

“Can I stay over at your place tonight? I am going to guess that Fuyumi probably doesn’t want to talk to me right now.” Byeol asked with a sweet smile on her face, I don’t know why she’s putting the effort in, she knows I am going to say yes. We stuck around the opening with the statues for a good while discussing what’s next. In the end, I don’t really think either one of us is that sure. All I know is that it is late at night and now I’m physically tired and mentally tired.

“Excuse me ladies, can I ask you what you are doing so late at night?” Both of us turn around quickly to see a lone policeman waiting behind us. He is not that much taller than Byeol, a normal person wouldn’t think he is that intimidating. I am sadly more irrational than the average person.

“My friend here was feeling very sick after work and I thought that some fresh air would do her some good.” Byeol spoke up first, knowing that I wouldn’t.

“Hm… your friend there does seem a little green. Can I see your IDs?” The second part of his sentence seems so robotic, as if he said it many times a day. I knew if Byeol wasn’t trying to keep me calm she would have groaned. She took off the bag that was resting on her back and pulled out both of our IDs. The policeman scanned them quickly.

“This park seems a little out of your way…” He stated sternly, he must have been looking at our addresses. “You know there’s a closer one to you?”

“Actually we didn’t, we will definitely look into that.” Byeol lied.

“I see that you too are benders… are you sure that it was just you two lurking around here?” He asked, eying both of us up. I could feel the air around us getting slightly warmer.

“Uh, sir I don’t see why that is important, but no we did not see anyone as we were walking around. Could we have our IDs back?” Byeol asked, even though she was trying not to show it I knew she was getting upset. Her hand was shaking.

“Okay,” The officer scoffed as he handed our ID’s back to Byeol. “You too be careful now. You wouldn’t want to bump into the wrong kind of people.” With that he turned around and headed back towards the park. I stole a quick glance in Byeol’s direction and while she didn’t seem angry anymore she definitely seemed disappointed. Everyone gets stopped at night, but the city is eternally suspicious of benders. It seems like it's always been like this.

Once we reached my apartment all the lights were already out which meant my mother was already asleep. We both headed straight into my room, Byeol plopped down in the second bed instantly, throwing her jacket on the floor and pulling the covers close to her. I put my jacket on the rack and changed into more comfortable pants. After I changed I ended up in my bed too. What happened today hasn’t really processed in my brain yet. There are just so many things I haven’t thought out and I never even thought that there was the slightest possibility that it was me.

“Wow, I’m so tired I can sleep through next week!” Byeol whispered, trying not to wake up my mother. Oh gods, how would my mother react to this? I haven’t even thought of that, could I really go on some larger than life journey and leave my mother behind? I don’t even know if she could handle that a second time.

“Lamai?” Byeol turned to her side to look at me lying in my bed. Even through the dark I could see her smile.

“Everything will be alright.” I really wanted to believe her.

**Author's Note:**

> I just would like to say I haven't written a fanfiction since 2018 and the fact that I convinced myself to write another one is wild. I am beyond happy that Avatar is getting talked about so much, I, like many, rewatched the series on Netflix, which then lead me to rewatch Korra. Korra was really important to me when it came out because while it was an extension of one of my childhood favorites, it also was the first animated shows to show female/female couple and that really made a young queer me happy. I adore the Avatar universe, I am huge book snob and the Avatar series really encapsulates my favorite aspects of my favorite fantasy novels.  
> That being said with this story I am going to follow what I've seen and read which in my case is the original series, The Legend of Korra and the first Kyoshi novel. I only know vague things about the comics and other books released so those will more likely than not be alluded to. There will be characters from Korra that are in this series, but I felt wrong listing them as characters now because they haven't been shown yet. I am going to follow the book format, I am going to have a set amount of chapters in each book, but I am not sure how many that would be.  
> The last couple things I have to say is that I don't think I'm going to make every chapter this long, but who knows. The goal of this series is to blend my favorite aspects of the two TV series- the adventure and learning of the elements from the original series and then the darker more adult themes of Korra. I gave this a teen rating cause like its going to get a little more dark, but like I'm not writing anything steamy. Thanks for reading.


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